Getting rid of an old scrap car is not as easy as it seems
Tuesday 18th February, 2014
Scrapping
The good news is that the days when drivers had to trawl round dodgy car breaking yards are over. Now just pop "scrap my car" into Google and up comes dozens of companies that promise to collect your car within days – and pay you as well.
But are these safe? The first one I emailed gave me an instant quote of £120 – and rang almost immediately, saying they'd pop round in an hour. And this was a Sunday afternoon. It's the sort of offer that rings alarm bells; were they a registered scrap dealer? (he mumbled something about a certificate coming soon); would he pay cash? (should be able to – which later I realised is a no-no); and would it definitely be scrapped? (er, he might sell it abroad). At this point I realised more research was necessary.
Rules introduced in 2005 make it a legal requirement that any car sent to be scrapped must go to an Authorised Treatment Facility. All car scrapyards must have a licence issued by the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency to ensure that scrapped vehicles don't harm the environment (all that battery acid, gearbox oil and engine parts) and that they are recycled appropriately.
All the car scrapping sites that came up on my Google search allowed me to enter my car registration and came back with quotes for how much they'd pay me. The range was between £150-£200 if I took the car to the yard, or £50 or so less if I wanted it collected from home.
You must tell the DVLA if you send your vehicle to scrap. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA
Which sites should you trust? Under the EU directive, the car manufacturers are ultimately responsible for ensuring vehicles are recycled properly, and that cars can be disposed of for free.
Many have linked up with eithercartakeback.com or rewardingrecycling.co.uk, which says it has handled the destruction of 1.25m cars. Ford in the UK says cartakeback.com is its recycling partner, while Toyota is linked to rewardingrecycling.co.uk, although both sites deal with virtually all brands of car.
They don't scrap the car themselves but get a local recycling centre to contact you. In my case, both offered around £150 for home collection.
What happens next? Dig out your V5 ownership document, follow the instructions and send the relevant part to the DVLA, which should confirm to you that you're no longer responsible for the car. The scrap dealer should send you a Certificate of Destruction, and should also tell the DVLA you don't own the car anymore.
If the dealer says they'll pay you in cash it's a sure sign they are dodgy. Under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act, introduced last October to combat metal theft, particularly copper from railway lines, it is illegal for anyone to pay cash for scrap cars. Most will issue a cheque or make a payment directly into your bank account. When selling, you have to give proof of identification, such as your driving licence or passport.
Remember to claw back any road tax or insurance you have on the vehicle. You can reclaim any unused complete months of road tax from the DVLA by downloading form V14 and returning it along with your tax disc to the DVLA.
